My own spring awakening

“Wacko, you do know that there is nudity in the show?”

“Yes. I am aware. I’ll deal with it.”

“Good. The show is so much more than that scene.”

—Author’s conversation with Director Chari Arespacochaga

MANILA, Philippines - Being on stage since I was 11, I was privileged enough to see all kinds of wonderful shows. I distinctly remember walking into a big theater, smelling the seats and feeling the chill of the air conditioner. I would be quite excited when the orchestra would warm up and as a boy try to peep through the curtain from Stage Right to see if my family was seated already. A great high would consume me singing beautiful melodies alongside excellent actors and amidst an elaborate set. It would be pure bliss when you’d hear the audience laugh at a punch line, cry at a moment or applaud after a song.

Truly there is nothing better than taking a bow and knowing the audience had an entertaining visit to the theater. But I recently learned that there is so much more to performance than that. As an artist, if you’re lucky, you are exposed to works that do more than entertain…they shake up ideas and stir up hearts. The question, provoke and challenge, even to the point of being banned and silenced — an exciting albeit scary thought. Such is my experience with Atlantis Productions’ staging of Spring Awakening.

Written by Steven Sater and put to song by pop-rock icon Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening brings us back to 19th century Germany, and to a world where repression and silence is king. Based on Frank Wedekind’s expressionist classic, Spring Awakening zeroes in on the challenges of teenage school children as they go through bodily and hormonal changes, sexual urges, puppy love and final exams. But it isn’t as cute.

Wedekind’s frank portrayal of rape, masturbation, abortion and suicide led to his play being banned from performance for 100 years. He didn’t call it a children’s tragedy for nothing. Fast forward to 2007 where Tom Hulce, Ira Pittleman, Jeffery Richards and Jerry Frankel tweaked the text, put in some awesome pop rock music and won for themselves eight Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Musical. That’s pretty good for a show that seems outright depressing.

But more than the heavy issues it tackles, Spring Awakening works because it was brutally honest, ironically current and painfully true. Although set in 1891, the struggles of teens not being able to talk to their parents about sex, having to live up to impossible social standards, and not being able to speak their minds are still prevalent. I personally didn’t think it was something enjoyable to watch until I heard the music.

Doing away with the lengthy expressionist monologues, Spring Awakening makes use of mosh-pit jumping, head-banging songs to express the thoughts and angst of the teenagers as they confine themselves in their misery.

Songs like Totally F#@*ed, The Bitch of Living and I Don’t Do Sadness are just some of the awesome songs that could easily be played on an iPod or heard on the radio. Don’t expect to be snapping your fingers and singing I Feel Pretty, because it really isn’t. It’s the music you turn up when you lock yourself in your room. It’s the music that you scream and shout to when she breaks your heart. It’s the music you jump to when you’re trying to drive a point. Sheik made a rock concert in the guise of a musical…Sater made a manifesto in the guise of a play. Spring Awakening made a revolution in the guise of a show.

Our director Chari Arespacochaga was quick in saying she was moved by the courage and honesty of the actors when she first saw it on Broadway. From then on she knew she wanted to do this show. It was the same courage and honesty that determined which of the 200 hopefuls would make it to the tight and lucky cast of 13 in the Manila run of Spring Awakening.

Walking into the audition room, I was amazed to see the great number of young people all wanting to be a part of this risky musical. It was double the pressure since our videos were to be sent to New York for approval. Those who auditioned came from all over; rock bands, theater, high school drama clubs and even college bloggers. They all knew the show and had a personal stake on it.

 Each one had different reasons for joining, but all had one common answer: “I went through this. I know what it feels like.”

Now the lucky 13 are in the thick of rehearsals and it gets scarier but more exciting. We are slowly discovering our characters, but in the process discovering ourselves as well. I’m now beginning to understand what Chari meant when she said she needed her actors to be brave and generous, fearless and honest.

The best advice I received from a director-friend was to “do roles and works that you’re afraid of.” Spring Awakening is nothing like I’ve ever done before…and I’m lucky to be a part of it alongside an awesome cast who are just as brave, clueless and scared as I am.

Spring Awakening runs from Sept. 25 to Oct. 18 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. Tickets are available at Atlantis Productions (with tel. nos. 892-7078 or 840-1187). Due to explicit content and some nudity, parental discretion is strongly advised.